The Uptown-Douglas Plan was passed unanimously by Saanich council in 2022 and now that plan is taking the next steps in a long journey to completion.
The ultimate goal of this plan is to establish a downtown core in the District of Saanich along Douglas Street over the next several years through redevelopment and reimagining what the area could offer.
The Uptown-Douglas Plan is to be implemented over approximately 20 to 30 years, according to Saanich.
This week, at the committee of the whole meeting on Monday, April 22nd, the council heard a report from District staff which called on them to approve the “pre-zoning” of the area designated to be Saanich’s reimagined downtown core.
The point of this was to have the zoning in the area consistent with the goals of their Uptown-Douglas Plan.
The plan would see a portion of Douglas Street rezoned to be a “core” area while the adjacent streets would become “urban mixed-use” and “mixed employment.”
The core sections on the map along Douglas Street will one day be meant for high-rise mixed-use commercial buildings which will allow for either businesses or homes to be built above the ground floor which will be meant for commercial applications.
The urban mixed-use section, east of Douglas Street, will be meant for mid to high-rise buildings meant for live-work spaces, commercial opportunities and residential housing.
Finally, the mixed-employment section, west of Douglas Street, will be for industrial and commercial opportunities with possibilities of residential housing.
In addition to all these building rezoning amendments, the plan will create more opportunities for cyclists, transit-users and pedestrians in some areas, including Audley Street.
Following these being presented to council and being greenlit, work will begin on amending the language in all bylaws that correspond with this plan and this will come back before council before the end of 2024.
